Roberto Bolaño - Cowboy Graves (Penguin, 2021) ***

 When Chilean author Roberto Bolaño died in 2003, he left behind his computers with lots of files of unpublished material. Some of those were just scraps of ideas and concepts, several were short stories or novellas that could be published as they were. Over the last years, several of these files have been prepared for publication, including the three novellas in this compilation: "Cowboy Graves", "French Comedy of Horrors", and "Fatherland". Based on the dates of the files, the first must have been written between 1995 and 1998, the second just before his death in 2003, and the last one around 1993. 

There are no surprises in the three novellas: the writing is fast-paced, Arturo Belano is the author's alter ego in the stories, which deal with writing poetry, politics and the revolution, with sentences full of uncertainty about things that happened or what may have motivated actions in the past. At the same time, the stories are full of concrete everyday activities, with a sense of mystery and humour about it, and the unpredictability of what may come next. 

Like in his other books, there is a wonderful admiration of poets and people who want to improve the world, all this written with a deep authenticity and openness of mind, lightfooted and full of the pleasure of writing. 

Fans of Bolaño should definitely seek this book out - even if it does not bring anything new - just for the joy of reading, while people less accustomed to his work, may want to start with "The Savage Detectives" or "2666".